1. crime and water pollution Discharges from ships Henk Ruessink ECENA course, Boedapest, December 2008

2. 2 Damage Caused by Ships

3. 3 Examples of particular issues: –Oil pollution –Chemicals –Sewage –Garbage –Mystery spills –Anti-fouling systems –Harmful aquatic organisms –Dumping wastes at sea –Groundings –Collisions

4. 4 result: coastline contamination

5. 5 Need for immediate resonse

6. 6 Water is life ! “It is a precondition for human, animal and plant life as well as an indispensable resource for the economy. Water also plays a fundamental role in the climate regulation cycle. Protection of water resources, of fresh and salt water ecosystems and of the water we drink and bathe in is therefore one of the cornerstones of environmental protection in Europe. The stakes are high and the issues transcend national boundaries and concerted action at the level of the EU is necessary to ensure an effective protection”

7. 7 International Maritime Organization Established through UN Convention on Law of the Sea  Competent international organization (UN Agency) Established 1948; first assembly 1959  Maintain the balance between protection of the environment and navigation rights  Challenge: closing the implementation gap IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee –Primary forum for maritime conventions –Focus upon all types of ship related pollution

8. 8 Some history 1950s  recognition of prroblem of sea pollution 1954  first international convention: OILPOL –Primary focus on oil: crude, fuel,lubricating, oily waste –Concentration limit, forbidden discharge zones 1959  first 100,000t crude tanker 1962  more restrictions in OILPOL 1967  Torrey Canyon disaster –Shipwreck in Channel, 120,000t crude oil spill 1971  further amendmends of OILPOL

9. 9 More history 1973  International conference leads to treaty –International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) –Also sees to chemicals, cargo, sewage and garbage 1976: only 3 ratifications: Jordan, Kenya and Tunisia 1976-1977  more grave accidents 1978  new MARPOL 73/78 (includes 1973 treaty) 1978  Amoco Cadiz shipwreck, France 1989  Exxon Valdez disaster; call for double hullsS (effective for new tankers, 1996)

10. 10 MARPOL 73/78 at a glance Ship-generated pollution as part of normal operations Ensures that ships are adequately designed, equipped, certified, operated and inspected Requires States to deal with wastes from ships – reception facilities Applies to all ships (discharge requirements) Convention with 6 technical Annexes

11. 11 MARPOL 73/78 Convention with 6 technical annexes annexSubject of pollution preventionInto force IoilOct. 1983 II noxious liquids in bulk April 1987 III harmful substances in packaged form July 1992 IV sewage from ships Sept. 2003 V garbage from ship Dec. 1988 VI air May 2005

12. 12 MARPOL 73/78 annexSubject of pollution preventionInto force II noxious liquid substances April 1987 Hazard-related qualitative and quantitative limitations to discharges in marine environment. 4 Categories: from fully prohibited to free discharge More stringent restrictions applied in sensitive areas, e.g. the Baltic and Black Sea

13. 13 MARPOL 73/78 annexSubject of pollution preventionInto force III harmful substances in packaged form July 1992 Sets requirements for the issuing of standards on packing, marking, labelling, documentation, stowage, quantity limitations, exceptions and notifications for preventing pollution by such substances Optional Annex !

14. 14 MARPOL 73/78 annexSubject of pollution preventionInto force VI air May 2005 Sets limits on sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from ship exhausts. Prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances. Defines a global cap of 4.5% m/m on the sulphur content of fuel oil. Prohibits onboard incineration of certain goods.

15. 15 MARPOL 73/78 Annex I & II Annex III Annex IV Annex V Annex VI oil and noxious liquid substances harmful substances carried at sea in packaged form sewage from ships garbage from ships air pollution from ships in force 145 parties128 Parties118 Parties134 Parties47 Parties 98.34% world tonnage 94.50% world tonnage 75.70% world tonnage 96.52% world tonnage 74.73% world tonnage

16. 16 Standards of MARPOL re. oil Discharge of oil or oily mixtures forbidden, unless: –Oil content of ship machinery < 15 ppm (after proper treatment/separation) –Oil cargo residue is discharged at distance > 50nm to nearest coast Oil/water treatment equipment on ships > 400 grt Oil Record Book I/II Segregated ballast tanks Crude oil washing system Double hull (new tankers)

17. 17 MARPOL and enforcement “Wherever visible traces of oil are observed on or below the surface of the water in the immediate vicinity of a vessel or its wake, Governments of Parties to the present Convention should, to the extent that they are reasonably able to do, promptly investigate the facts bearing on the issue of whether there has been a violation of the provisions of this regulation.” Primary obligation: flagstate Concurrent jurisdiction: port state and coast state (art. 4.2) Flagstate enforcement thusfar rather disappointing….

18. 18 MARPOL enforcement challenges Detecting a violation not always easy Collecting good evidence is a hurdle Jurisdiction sometimes unclear Tactical approaches depend on State system Choice of sanction: penal, administrative, civil Choice of defendant

19. 19 Areas of off shore jurisduction FS CS PS

20. 20 Modus operandi of offenders False statements Failure to record Failure to report Bypassing equipment Overruling systems Switching off systems

21. 21 Surveillance and inspection Surveillance boats and vessel tracking Aerial surveillance –Airplanes –Visible spectrum (photographs, videos) –Radar, Infrared, ultra-violet (UV) Satellites (optical or microwave) On board inspections –Essential for evidence –Requires a good preparation

22. 22 False or true ORB entries?

23. 23 Bypassing pipes

24. 24 Flexible ‘solutions’

25. 25 Switch to overrule alarm

26. 26 More information www.imo.org www.interpol.int –Investigative Manual for Illegal Oil Discharges from Vessels (CD-ROM) www.aquapol-police.com